Heimerdinger/Strategy
Skill usage * A can act as a ward, though this is not recommended since they cannot stealth, and auto acquire enemies thereby revealing them, and offline turrets only give the sight range equivalent to that of a . ** Use them as such only if you find yourself repeatedly ganked. * Good placement is crucial to their effectiveness. For example, placing one at the back end of your minion wave would make the turrets near useless (as the enemy minions are far away from the turret). * , when set up before minions appear, can be used to disrupt the enemy jungler, forcing an earlier recall, and giving info on where the enemy jungler has been. * The amount of damage dealt by your turrets is based on when you place them. Make sure you use all your elixirs, or if you have an ally such as to have them boost your ability power before placing them. ** Keeping turrets clustered is good against non-AoE based champions. Keeping them away from the minion path cuts down the AoE's effectiveness even more. A tight cluster can block skillshots such as or , but are susceptible to AoE spells such as . * is an extremely powerful tool for harassment and zoning, due to its long range and high concentrated damage, functioning as Heimerdinger's main source of damage early game. * will hit the first enemy it makes contact with, so try to catch your opponent in an open area before using it for maximum effectiveness. * stun is difficult to land by itself; throwing it after allied disables have been placed guarantees success. Being closer to the target area is also helpful as it lessens the travel time. * Catch an enemy champion offguard by stunning them with immediately followed up by and quickly putting next to the target during the stun. * Since champions usually try to destroy your turrets upon sight, especially during early laning, use this to your advantage and punish them with and . ** Try to defend them, as each turret has strong sustained damage. However, since the rework, getting turrets destroyed is no longer as detrimental to Heimerdinger due to the lower mana cost. * allows to play defensively and hold a lane or push minions quickly. ** Holding the lane is highly recommended as it is where shines, being able to regenerate the turrets' health and himself. ** Keep in mind that no longer affects allied turrets, but rather only , his turrets, and allied champions. * 's greatly buffs the next skill he casts, each with a preferred usage point: ** summons a greatly enhanced that deals splash damage, charges its beam attack faster, and slows its attack targets. It's best used as a defensive tool when an enemy directly attacks , or during a teamfight in which you don't need hard crowd control or burst damage, as it deals high sustained damage that makes fighting near it very dangerous for your enemies. ** fires a barrage of several waves of in a line in front of . It's the strongest and burstier damaging ability that posseses, although deals more sustained damage, and thus it's best used when going for the kill on an oppossing champion, or during a teamfight in which a large burst of damage is needed. ** lobs an enhanced that bounces three times, each bounce releasing an explosion that deals damage, slows (the slow being much stronger than 's) and stuns enemies directly hit. Although the damage can only be applied once, the stun and slow can be applied multiple times. While it deals way less damage than or , 's powerful crowd control potential makes it 's best enhanced skill for ganks or teamfights in which hard crowd control is required. Build usage * Heimerdinger is naturally squishy, and a tankier build is suggested. Otherwise, he will be melted away in teamfights. ** Tanky AP items such as , , and will allow Heimerdinger to survive longer. * One of Heimerdinger most feared tactics was to combine the stasis from while having used right before, allowing both his turrets to continue firing while he is invulnerable. ** This same strategy can also be applied by choosing to build a while being attacked and optimally having three other turrets set up to bait an enemy. * A build that provides good mana regeneration early game will allow you to maintain your in the lane to assist with last hitting minions for gold. The mana regeneration will probably stem from a , because using in particular will drain a lot of mana at once. In late game it can be built into . * A high cooldown reduction build will allow you to harass the enemy champion(s) with and . * A gives a good early game with some extra health and mana and with a great passive for the early game laning phase. * benefits from an greatly early game because of the mana/mp5/AP it provides. has little need for mana early game due to his high ability cooldowns, but spamming , , and end game will drain your mana pool quickly. * Valor passive has good synergy with , as the bonus damage applies to his s. Recommended builds Lane Tactics General * If you're being pressed against your tower, set up your turrets so that if the enemy champion tries to kill them, they have to come within the tower's range. ** This will allow you to continue gaining gold off of last hits from the turret. 1v1 Lane * Once you have Rank 4 in and Rank 1 you can kill the spawn without leaving the lane. This will allow you to gain extra experience and gold to gain an advantage over your enemy. * If you can keep the enemy champion pressed against his/her tower, you can gain a bigger gold / experience advantage by killing off their wraith spawn as well. * Having turrets ready can make it easier getting the blue buff, giving Heimerdinger a good amonut of mana regen and CDR to spam his . 2v2 Lane * Your can serve as wards to maintain control over brush. * can be used to reveal a large area. This combined with its long range make it excel at scouting brush or jungle areas. * Leaving a lane to buy items can be more beneficial to your lane if you have the summoner spell . By placing your turrets in a bush out of sight and recalling within the sight of your enemies then buying items and using back to the hidden turret can cause your lane enemies to over extend trying to kill your partner when you come out of the bush and kill them. * Before leaving a lane, place both turrets and then back to one of your turrets being attacked since it will be invulnerable during the teleport time. 1v2 Lane * success in a 1v2 lane comes from keeping the enemy at his own tower.. * Using , and , you should easily wipe out attacking minions. * Maxing will allow you to spike enemy champions whenever their minion wave dies down to give you a guaranteed hit on them. * Having at least rank 1 gives you a stun that you can use whenever an enemy champion comes in range of the tower / your turrets. * Use your to reveal areas in bushes and to allow use of when a target is located in a bush. * Switch to a more defensive playstyle when facing pushers in your lane. (e.g , ) Jungle * Heimerdinger can be a surpirisingly good jungler. His can be used for fast clears and his can absorb a lot of the damage from the monsters. * For ganks, try to set up your in the enemy's escape route. As they run past it, stun them with and slow them with (if available). * The blue buff allows you to purchase other items without worrying too much about mana regen. * However, you might want to buy some mana regen items (such as or ) eventually, to help with mana when you don't have the buff. Plus, gives ability power, and can be built into an , which gives Heimerdinger much-needed AP and CDR. Countering * is a strong pusher because of his turrets. Make sure you play safe when laning against him. ** Work with your allies to take down his before engaging him. ** Also, if you are a jungler and against a , you can use (If available) against his . * abilities all deal magic damage. Stack magic resistance items to mitigate his damage. * has very strong lane sustain thanks to his passive making him more prone to shorter cooldown pokes, instead of long cooldown bursts, as he will be able to regenerate during their cooldowns. * will only stun when you are in the center of the AoE. Avoid the spell missile to avoid the stun. ** missile speed is slow. If you see the spell coming, sidestep it. ** Beware that even if the missile doesn't stun, getting hit by the AoE will still slow you a significant amount. * Be careful when uses as it allows him to use an empowered ability. His has incredible damage potential if all of the rockets manage to hit you. * If Heimerdinger throws a into a bush, he gains vision of it regardless of whether it hits something or not. It isn't recommended to stay in the bush if he spots you in this manner. * is an incredibly squishy champion if caught out. Take any and all opportunities to attack him if he separates from his turrets or attempts to roam. **Additionally, is weak in team fights if he has no chance to set up turrets. If a team fight begins and he is without his weaponry, have your team stick on him and melt him as quickly as possible. ** If he is allowed to, a with his turrets set up and ready can be difficult to penetrate, as a fed who is able to set up turrets is one of the most powerful opponents in the game. * If all your abilities are on cooldown, don't chase him around his turrets, as the turret damage will quickly add up. * Unlike most mages, Heimerdinger can bring down Fighters alone by kiting them around his turrets and landing a good . * Try not to push to his turret, as his passive allow him to hold it for an extremely long period of time while farming easily. ** His turrets will also be hard to take down when near a (real) turret. * turrets have a low mana cost, so destroying them will not affect his mana much, but they are easier to destroy. Be wary when eliminating them as he may be able to punish you with , , auto attacks, and the turret itself. * will hit the first enemy unit in its path. Keeping a few minions in between you and Heimerdinger will negate most of his harass ability. ** The rockets slightly arc onto their point of convergence or can spread out from it depending on where chooses to fire them. * , , , and other champions with minion-specific abilities can use those abilities on . In particular, can neutralize Heimerdinger's turrets by throwing them out of the lane. Champion Spotlight Category:Champion strategies